1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communications equipment housing and, more specifically, to a communications equipment housing having lateral side plates that allow for a more standardized manufacturing process.
2. Background Art
In general, a housing is used to protect various interior circuit components of communications equipment such as a switch, a transmission device, a cordless communications device. Such a housing is formed of a solid metal, and includes a plurality of plates and vertical members.
A housing for communications equipment may be constructed using an upper plate, four vertical members extending downward from the four corners of the upper plate, a lower plate that is attached to the vertical members, a front side plate and a rear side plate that are attached on the sides of the housing between the upper and lower plates, and side lateral plates that are positioned on the sides of the housing between the front side plate and the rear side plate.
The connection of a lateral side plate to the housing may be accomplished using a side support that has one end connected to an interior side of a vertical member, that bears any vertical loads, via a clamping bolt, and the other end of the side support is connected to a lateral side plate by another clamping bolt that is inserted through a clamping hole that is positioned on the lateral side plate.
These sort of lateral side plates in communications equipment housing require that different lateral side plates be made for each size chassis. This occupies manufacturing resources and prevents the streamlining and the standardization of the manufacturing process. In addition, because the dimensions of the lateral side plates are designed early in the manufacturing process, a manufacturer cannot easily adjust the width of the lateral side plates to accommodate variations in the dimensions or number of interior circuit components that are to be contained in the housing.
As such, I believe it may be possible to improve on the contemporary art by providing a communications equipment housing that is easier to standardize the manufacturing process of, that is simpler to assemble than contemporary housings, that has lateral side plates that are adjustable during the manufacturing process to accommodate varying types and variously sized electronic equipment.